I have been preparing to attend law school. I hav just finished my BS In business. I would like to pursue a career as a real estate and business formation consultant. I would like to legally assist in real estate sales, zoning estate planning and business formation services. I know I could just get a real estate license for re sales aspect but do I need TI become a lawyer to legally perform the tasks above?

Jaye, you can get a lot of information about various occupations from the US Department of Labor online. For example, http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos114 has a lot of information about paralegal job descriptions, educational requirements, etc., and http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes232011.htm provides information about paralegal wages by location. You can find similar information about other occupations by using the search box at the top of their page.

At the moment, there's a real glut of attorneys on the market - so it's tough getting a job if you're hunting for one, and it's tough getting billable hours if you don't already have clientele. In the real estate / zoning world, you might consider becoming a city manager - but that may take some political savvy as well. There are a billion business formation consultants available online, so you'd face stiff competition there.

Time spent researching will help, but in the end, you have to consider your own aptitudes and desires.

If you plan to legally offer people advice about what the law says about things and how to either follow or subvert it then you would need the law degree. Not all lawyers are trial lawyers but why would anyone be dumb enough to pay you for advice in an area where you are ignorant. ( Silly question, forget I asked it.)

If you plan to legally offer people advice about what the law says about things and how to either follow or subvert it then you would need the law degree. Not all lawyers are trial lawyers but why would anyone be dumb enough to pay you for advice in an area where you are ignorant. ( Silly question, forget I asked it.)

Hey Jaye,

If you're looking to give legal advice in the real estate world, you're going to have to get a law degree.

From what you want to do, a paralegal program will be a waste. I would recommend skipping it.